DictionaryAI

confine

kuhn-FYN/kənˈfaɪn/
As a nounKON-fyn

Verbconfines, confining, confined

Noun pluralconfines

4 meanings of confine

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To keep someone or something inside a certain area or limit.

    Like a fence that keeps animals inside one field.

    The doctors confined the patient to bed for a week.

    Please confine your dog to the yard while the workers are here.

    Similarrestrict, limit, pen

    Oppositefree, release, expand, broaden

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountableplural
    A line or limit that marks where something ends.

    The town has grown far beyond its old confines.

    The children must stay within the confines of the playground.

    Similarboundary, limit, bound, border, perimeter

    Note
  3. 3
    nounliteraryuncountable
    The state of being kept as a prisoner or shut in.

    The old king kept his brother in close confine for many years.

    After ten long years of dark confine, the prisoner saw the sun again.

    Similarcaptivity, imprisonment, incarceration, confinement

    Oppositefreedom, liberty, release

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    verbobsolete
    To touch or share a border with another place.

    Our fields confine with the river meadows on the east side.

    Where your gloomy bounds / Confine with heaven
    1667, John Milton, Paradise LostHere, confine with means share a border with, touch at the edge.
    Note

Practice

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Origin

From Middle French confiner, based on Latin words meaning a border or boundary.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts